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From great_cto
Surfaces hidden constraints and unknown unknowns before architecture decisions. Walks through 7 discovery dimensions: dependencies, scale, invariants, budget, failure modes, past attempts, and decision authority.
How this skill is triggered — by the user, by Claude, or both
Slash command
/great_cto:discoveryWhen to use
Apply BEFORE producing architecture docs, audit findings, security plans: - architect, before writing ARCH-*.md - project-auditor, at the start of /audit - security-officer, before threat-modeling - l3-support, when triaging a new incident - regulated-reviewer, when classifying compliance scope - any reviewer who needs domain context the user hasn't given
docs/**.great_cto/**README*This skill is limited to the following tools:
The summary Claude sees in its skill listing — used to decide when to auto-load this skill
The biggest cause of bad agent output is missing context. Before locking
The biggest cause of bad agent output is missing context. Before locking in a decision, enumerate what you don't know and surface it.
For any non-trivial request, walk through these and record findings in the report's "Context" section:
Grep for: grep -rE "import.*<your-module>|require.*<your-module>" in
the repo and any sibling repos you have access to.
If unknown, write: "scale unknown — request from user before proceeding."
If unstated, default to "small project_size, 1-engineer-week, <$200/mo budget." Surface this default in the report so the user can correct.
Ask: "If this feature breaks at 3am, what gets paged?"
The failure mode dictates investment level (e.g., do you need a canary? A circuit breaker? Just a feature flag?).
bd search "<keyword>" — has this been attempted before?If past work exists, build on it. Don't redo it.
A discovery section at the top of your report:
## Context
- **Consumers:** <list, or "unknown — TBD with user">
- **Scale:** <today, 6mo projection>
- **Frozen contracts:** <list, or "none identified">
- **Budget:** <cost + time + people>
- **Failure-mode tier:** Critical | High | Medium | Low
- **Prior work:** <links to ADRs/lessons, or "none found">
- **Decision-makers:** <gate or RFC required>
npx claudepluginhub avelikiy/great_ctoAutonomously researches feature requests or architecture documents, explores codebase patterns, identifies ambiguities and gaps, produces feature-context.md for orchestrator without making technical decisions.
Deep architectural review of a platform or product — cross-references code against claims, maps failure modes, evaluates scaling bottlenecks, and produces a decision-grade handoff document with ADRs. Use when: reviewing an existing system for scaling readiness, performing a CTO handoff, evaluating platform architecture for enterprise readiness, or auditing a codebase before a major migration. Triggers: architecture review, scaling review, platform review, CTO handoff, system audit, scaling analysis, architecture assessment, production readiness.
Advises on architectural decisions by asking questions, surfacing trade-offs, and presenting options without executing. Use when designing features, choosing approaches, or refactoring.